Furnace charger



E. C. REILLY ET AL Bec. 11, 1934.

FURNACE CHARGER Filed July '7, 1933 Patented Dec. 11, i934 STARS FURNACE CHARGER Emmet C. Reilly and Harley D. Pennington, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignors to United Engineering &

Foundry Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 7, 1933, Serial N0. 679,360

8 Claims.

Our invention relates to annealing furnace charging apparatus, or apparatus of that character, and particularly to an improvement upon apparatus of the type disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,531,407 granted to L. Johnson, March 31, 1925.

In accordance with the customary practice, annealing furnaces are built in groups and arranged in side-by-side relation with their charging openings disposed adjacent to each other to facilitate the charging into them of the metal to be annealed. Generally the metal is placed in containers, referred to as charging boxes, and introduced into one or another of the furnaces of the group by means of suitable vcharging apparatus.

As disclosed in the aforesaid Johnson patent, the prior preferred form of charging apparatus for this purpose comprises a truck which is adapted to be shifted from one furnace to another by means of a crane, or like apparatus, and deposited in front of whichever furnaces it is desired to place a charging box in or remove one from. For guiding and facilitating the entry of the truck into the furnaces, a pair of rails is arranged in front of the charging opening of each furnace and on them the truck must be mounted before it can be operated. For moving the truck into and out of the furnaces after it is placed on the guiding rails a gear rack is provided on its under side which is adapted to be actuated by a driving pinion mounted on a drive shaft also arranged in front of the furnace and with which the rack has to be meshed when the truck is lowered onto the transfer rails. Usually such drive shaft is extended along the front of the entire group of furnaces, and equipped with a pinion in front of each furnace. On the top of the truck 40 there is provided a support for receiving an annealing box which is adapted to be moved longitudinally of the truck proper and also raised and lowered as it is moved endwise. The purpose of this latter movement is to provide for moving the charging box into and out of the furnace out of contact with the furnace floor and for lowering it onto the floor after which it is in place in the furnace as well as for allowing the truck to be moved into and out of thefurnace without contacting the box.

Among the objections to such apparatus are that it requires the installation of charging rails and the provision of a drive shaft and drive pinions for moving the truck in front of each furnace. Furthermore, when the truck is shifted from one furnace to another, it not only has to be accurately mounted on these guiding rails but its gear rack must be also carefully meshed with the pinion on the pinion shaft. In practice it has been found that this is rather difcult particularly when the truck is loaded, and if great care is not taken when the shiftis made the charging rack or the driving opinion or both are frequently injured. In addition, because of its length when extended across the front of all of the furnaces, as it usually is, the pinion shaft frequently is twisted or distorted to such an extent by the strains encountered that it is exceedingly hard to operate and keep in operating condition. Also, the elevating apparatus used for raising and lowering the charging-box support on such trucks is operated in such a fashion that the box and support are displaced-longitudinally of the truck to some extent when they are being raised and lowered and as a result, the charging box, which is usually heavy and cumbersome in sliding along the oor and sides of the furnace not only wears these surfaces down very rapidly but frequently seriously damages them.

With these difficulties in mind,r it is an object of this invention to provide an annealing furnace charging machine which is adapted to be operated without the use of any separate guiding rails or pinion-driving charging shaft such as has been previously required in front of the annealing furnaces, and whereby thev difliculties accompanying the use of such accessories are eliminated and the space in front of the furnace is freed of such obstructions which is highly desirable.

Another object is to provide in a charging apparatus of the aforementioned type means for limiting the raising and lowering of the charging-box support to a strictly vertical movement whereby the opportunity for wear taking place between the charging box and the walls of the furnace when the box is being inserted and removed from the furnace is greatly minimized or eliminated.

These and various other objects, as well as the Various other novel features and advantages of the invention, will be apparent when the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, of which Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of a single embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 a plan view, and Fig. 3 a section taken on the broken line III-'III of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

To indicate the manner in which this apparatus is used, a portion of only a single annealing furnace is shown in the drawing, but as will be readily understood, a number of these furnaces are usually built in groups with their charging openings arranged adjacent to each other. To accommodate the charging apparatus, the floors a of each furnace are provided with longitudinal grooves b for the reception of the parts of the charging apparatus which carry the annealing box into and out of the furnaces.

In accordance with this invention, a charging apparatus is provided which comprises essentially a charging-box conveying truck 1 and a track and truck supporting member 2 upon which the truck is interconnectably mounted and adapted to roll as shown in the drawing, the track member 2 being built in the manner of a platform. consisting of a pair of parallelly disposed I-beams 10, rigidly bound together by spaced cross plates 11 and equipped at the outer sides of such I-beams with spaced checks 14 for the reception of the hoisting hooks of a crane or like apparatus, not shown, by means of which the apparatus as a whole is shifted from one furnace to another.

On the top of the I-beams l and running the full length of the platform or rail member there is provided a pair of rails 12 upon which the carriage wheels 16 of the truck are mounted for movement, and beneath the adjacent upper flanges of such beams there is mounted a pair of gear racks 13.

The truck as shown comprises a pair of spaced side frame-members 15 which are aligned with the beams of the track member, and separated at their front ends to permit their running in the grooves b in the furnaces but connected, for rigidity, at their rear ends by cross girts such as the member 39 seen in Fig. 3. In the lower part of these side frame-members a series of carriage wheels 16 is mounted in spaced relation and adapted to run upon the tracks 12 secured to the top of the track-member 2, while in the upper part of such members there is mounted a series of rolls 17 which are adapted to engage the under faces of a series of cam legs 18 mounted on the under side of a reciprocating cam-member which extends longitudinally of the front part of the truck and which is constituted by such legs and a yoke 19 by which they are connected together at the rear' end of the cam member. As shown best in Fig. 1, these cam legs 18 are formed with a plurality of downwardly extending wedgeshaped cam projections 20, and at their rear ends,

with upwardly extending wedge-shaped cam projections 21, which latter are adapted to be engaged from above by rolls 22 revolubly mounted in standards 23 which extend upwardly from the side frame-members 15. With this construction, when a forward thrust is imparted to the'cammember the cam projections ride forward and upward upon the rolls 17 and cause the cammember to rise in an inclined direction at the same time the rear part of the cam-member is guided by the engagement of the cam projections 21 with the rolls 22.

For supporting a charging box on the truck, a pair of support bars 24 is provided, and mounted with their lower edges disposed to move in channels 5 formed in the upper faces of the legs 18 of the cam member. To facilitate the movement of the cam member beneath such bars a series of rolls 25 is mounted on the base 3 of the channels 5. And to limit the movement of these bars to a strictly vertical movement so that a box mounted on them will not scrape along the wall or floor of the furnace when it is being lowered on orlifted from the floor of the furnace, they are equipped at their rear ends with yokes 26 provided with vertical windows 26al in which a pair of guide blocks 27 loosely mounted on a shaft 28 is slidably engaged. This shaft 28 in turn is rigidly mounted in the frame-members 15 of the truck to thereby prevent any longitudinal movement of the bars when they are being raised and lowered by the cam-member when it is moved forward and backward with respect to the truck.

To effect the endwise movement of the cammember a pair of connecting rods 29 is coupled at their front ends to the yoke 19 of the cammember, and at their rear ends to a sleeve 30 threaded upon a screw 31 which is mounted in suitable bearings 32 carried by the truck frame. To operate this screw it is connected by means of a clutch 33 to a shaft 34 which is driven, through a suitable gearing 35, from a reversible electric motor 36 mounted on a suitable support 36a provided on the rear end of the truck.

For effecting longitudinal movement of the f truck upon the track supporting platform 2 a pair of pinicns 37 is provided and arranged to engage the racks 13 mounted on the under side of the upper adjacent flanges of the l-beams 10. These pinions in turn are mounted on a shaft which has its bearing in legs 33 which are extended down-- wardly from the cross member 39 of the truck. On such shaft between the downwardly extending legs 38 there is keyed a worm gear 40 which is meshed with a corresponding worm gear 41 mounted on a stub shaft 42 carried by the truck frame. This stub shaft 42 also has a gear 43 mounted on it which is meshed with a gear 44 mounted on a shaft 45 carried by the truck frame in line with the main drive shaft 34 which is coupled to the motor 36. To control the operation of the driving pinions 37, a clutch 46 is interposed between the shafts 34 and 45. Hence, when the clutch 46 is moved into operative position and the motor 36 energized, the pinions 37 will rotate,

causing the truck to move longitudinally of the track-member.

ln the operation of the apparatus, after a charging box is placed upon box-engaging bars 24 of the truck, which may be in a lowered position at such time, the whole apparatus is then lifted by a crane or the like, and transported and deposited in front of a furnace in alignment with the grooves b in the floor of the furnace. To facilitate the placing of the platform and truck in proper alignment. with such grooves outwardly flaring guides 50 may be placed in front of each furnace in the proper spaced relation to readily receive the truck supporting platform and accurately align it with the furnace. If the support" ing bars 24 were lowered at the time the annealing box was loaded upon them, the clutch 33 is then thrown in and the motor 36 energized to operate in such a direction as to cause the screw 31 to move the cam-member forward and raise the support-bars and annealing box to the desired elevation for entrance into the furnace and the motor stopped. Next the clutch 33 is thrown out the clutch 46 thrown in and the motor energized to cause the truck to move forwardly upon the track-member, the wheels 16 of the truck running first upon the tracks l2 and then upon the bottoms of the grooves b in the furnace floor, which are level with the tracks. bars 24 being raised, the annealing box will thus be introduced into the furnace at a level above that of the floor d. When the truck has traveled far enough to introduce the annealing box, the motor is stopped and the clutch 46 thrown out and the clutch 33 thrown in. 'Ihe motor is then GOA The supportrestarted so as to turn the screw 31 in such direction as to move the cam-member rearwardly, the effect being that the cam projections 20 ride downward upon the rolls 1,7 of the truck-frame, allowing the support-bars 2,4 to descend vertically and the annealing box to be deposited vertically upon the furnace iioor a. The motor 36 is then stopped, the clutch 33 thrown out and the clutch 46 thrown in. Upon the motor 36 now being started again in the opposite direction to before, the truck will be retracted upon the trackmember and withdrawn from the furnace.

To reiterate, among the outstanding features of the invention is the provision of an annealing furnace charging machine which does not require the installationof any outside driving device for moving the truck into and out of the furnace or the provision of separate sets of rails for each furnace. Another important feature is that the support bars on which the charging boxes are mounted are limited to a strictly vertical movement both in the lowering of the charging box upon and raising it from the furnace floor. 'I'his avoids any scraping or sliding of the annealing box upon the furnace floor and side walls which scraping or sliding, if permitted, produces a considerable wear and frequently seriously injures the furnace. The vertical movement of the annealing box in lowering and raising has a further advantage in that the furnace need be no longer than the annealing box, whereas if the annealing box be moved upwardly and downwardly upon an inclined plane, such, for instance, as that of the cam projections 20, extra length would have to be provided in the furnace to allow for this movement.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, we have explained the principle and mode of operation of our invention, and have illustrated and described what we now consider to be its best embodiment. However, we desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated and described.

We claim:

1. A charging machine for furnaces, comprising a portable platform adapted to be rested upon the floor in front of a furnace, a pair of spaced rails mounted longitudinally of said platfo a truck equipped with side wheels mounted on said platform with said wheels engaging said rails, a charging box support mounted for vertical adjustment on said truck, means interposed between the truck and said box support for raising and lowering the latter, means connected between said platform and truck for moving the latter longitudinally of the platform, and means mounted on said truck for selectively actuating said box support and truck-adjusting means.

2. A charging machine for furnaces, comprising a portable platform adapted to be rested on the floor in front of a furnace, and having a pair of spaced longitudinally disposed tracks mounted thereon, a truck having spaced frame members adapted to run upon said tracks, supporting members carried by said truck, means carried by said truck for raising and lowering said support members, a power device carried by said truck, a clutch between said power device and said supportraising and lowering means, means for moving said truck longitudinally of said platform, and a clutch between said last-mentioned means and said power device.

3. A charging machine for furnaces comprising a portable platform adapted to be rested on the floor in front of a furnace and having a pair of spaced tracks mounted longitudinally thereof, a truck comprising a pair of spaced frame members equipped with carriage Wheels mounted for movement on said tracks, a cam member arranged for longitudinal movement on said truck and having inclined legs resting upon said frame members, cam means between said legs and said frame members for causing said cam member to rise and descend in an inclined direction when moved longitudinally, support bars resting on saidlegs, means carried by said truck for limiting the movement imparted to said support bars by said cam means to a vertical movement, a screw rotatably mounted on said truck and threadably connected to said cam means for moving the latter, a gear rack on said platform, a pinion on said truck disposed to engage said rack, and power means mounted on said truck connected by clutches to said pinion and cam-adjusting screw.

4. Apparatus for transferring articles to a support having grooves therein and depositing the articles on said support, comprising a portable truck-supporting track supporting platform adapted to be rested on a horizontal surface and having tracks spaced for alignment with the grooves of said support mounted thereon, a truck having frame members adapted to run on said tracks and spaced to enter the grooves of said support, a cam member longitudinally movable with respect to said truck and having legs supported by said frame members, cam means between said frame members and the legs of said cam member, said cam means being constructed to cause said cam member to rise and descend in an inclined direction when said cam member is moved longitudinally of said truck, support members resting upon the legs of said cam members, and means carried by said truck for guiding said support members vertically, whereby longitudinal movement of said cam member causes vertical movement of said support members.

5. Apparatus for transferring articles to a support having grooves therein and depositing the articles on said support, comprising a portable truck-supporting platform adapted to be rested on a horizontal surface and having tracks spaced for alignment with the grooves of said support mounted thereon, a truck having frame members spaced to enter the grooves of said support and adapted to run upon said tracks, an article-supporting device carried by said trucks, a power device carried by said truck, means for raising and lowering said article-supporting means, a clutch between said power device and said raising and lowering means, means for effecting longitudinal movement between said truck and said track member, and a clutch between said power device and said last-named means.

6. Apparatus for transferring articles to a support having grooves therein and depositing the articles on said support, comprising a portable truck-supporting platform adapted to be transferred bodily from place to place and rested on a horizontal surface having tracks spaced for alignment with said grooves mounted thereon, a truck having spaced frame members adapted to run upon said tracks and enter said grooves, an article-supporting device carried by said track members and having a portion longitudinally movable with respect to said truck, cam means between said supporting device and said truck constructed to raise and lower said supporting device upon longitudinal movement of. said portion thereof,` a rotatable screw carried by said truck, a threaded sleeve on said screwconnected with said portion of said supporting device, a power device carriedk by said truck,` clutch between said power device and said sleeve, means for effecting. longitudinal movement of.' saidr truck upon` said track member,V and a clutch between said ment, a yoke provided with avertical slot in it at,

one end of said supporta slide b-lockfcar'ried by said frame members disposed. to engage the slot in saidyoleand limit they movement of said snp-l port to a strictly Vertical movement, and meanscarried by said truck for selectively` moving saidV cam member endwise of said truck and said truck longitudinally ofl said platform.

r 8'. v In a charging machine for'furnaces, a truck. for charging and discharging metall to and from a furnace, a support mounted on said truck for vertical '-adjustment; elevating means provided withy a plurality of wedge-shaped cams mounted` for longitudinal inclined movement between said truck and support, and a vertically disposed slot andA slide connection between said support and said truck adapted to limit the movement of said support by vsaid cams to a strictly vertical movement.

EMMET Cl REILLY.

HARLEY D. PENNINGTON. 

